Firearms of the Latter Days
According to the Great Bull, any sort of repeating firearm is a sin, including revolvers. Any sort of explosive shell is a sin. This leaves, however, a wide array of highly lethal adaptations in the more developed regions. Personal Firearms In rural areas, smooth-bore muzzle-loaders are still made, but in developed regions, particularly the great intellectual centers of Sun Wukong, Ummajadid, and Istedden, quick-open breaches automatically eject spent shells of sophisticated manufactured bullets. Needle-bullets with boots Discarding Sabot defeat most personal armor. A stack of stamped steel razors have lethal effect on crowds. A sack of peas gives crowds a solid punch. Prunc Guns One of the few weapon innovations of the Hellings. Prunc guns "Punch guns" have a flaring muzzle. They are loaded with a large charge of power, a small circle of thin paper, and no bullet. Such a quantity of smoke comes out in a rolling toroid that it can knock over a grown man at thirty paces. Many prunc guns have four fingers that extend a 1½ jt. 1¼" The gun can be used to easily break open doors by pressing these fingers against the face of the door near the jamb. The effect can be made more painful by adding burning spices, such as ground kãhren literally "cayenne powder," in fact the plant is more closely related to the Thai chili or muscaud a native Saint Vengeance weed somewhat like a cross between wasabi and garlic. The force of the block causes the spice oils to penetrate into the skin where they cause intense pain. Usually non-lethal, spiced prunc can cause permanent damage to the eyes, nose, and throat. A blow to the face can even be lethal, especially to persons who already have weak lungs. Opinions differ as to whether spiced prunc violates the clause in the Great Bull on chemical weapons. As a general rule, it is legal in countries where strong spice is considered food, and illegal where it is foreign and strange. It is also possible to put illegal chemical agents into the smoke. Since such a doctoring is difficult to detect before the weapon has been used on someone, this is a popular way to violate the Bull. Lifetech Guns Lifetech Guns are a new innovation. Grafted onto the back of the hand or forearm, the gun uses electrical glands to fire the charge. Some have an integrated eye that improves accuracy. The breech opens and ejects the spent shell by muscle action, although the new shell must be loaded with the off hand. However, the guns are limited to one or two shots in succession, or else they will get hot enough to burn the muscles, or the wearer, or even crack the chitinous barrel. Large Guns The Great Bull prohibits "artillery," but does not specify the difference between cannon and handgun. Subsequent tradition clarifies that a handgun has a grip or stock. Even a cannon with a 24jt. bore has a grip, so, the argument goes, it is fired resting on its wheels only because a person strong enough to lift it is not present. Because of the ban on explosive shells, considerable creative energy has gone into devising ways of making non-exploding shells more destructive. Grapeshot--a packet of 1jt balls, instead of one large ball--is useful in point defense, but lacks the range and focus to make it effective in bombardment. Category:Weapons